Historical and biographical record of southern California; containing a history of southern California from its earliest settlement to the opening year of the twentieth century, Part 139

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman pub. co.
Number of Pages: 1366

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In her youth Mrs. Farr was surrounded with incentives to large accomplishment. She was born in New Hampton, N. H., and is a daughter of Augustus Burpee, a native of Boscawen, Mer- rimack county, N. H., and a schoolmate of Morse, of telegraphic fame. Her grandfather, Jeremiah, was the pioneer and most prominent potter in the state of New Hampshire, and a mas- ter in his line. Augustus Burpee was an ex- porter of shook to Cuba and had a very large business. In later life he went into the mercan- tile business, and continued thus up to his re- tirement. He died at New Hampton, where he had been very prominent in general affairs, and where he was known as a stanch supporter of Republican politics. He married Sarah Glines Robinson, born in New Hampton, N. H., and a daughter of Benjamin Robinson, whose fore- fathers had served with Washington in the Rev- olutionary war. Of the three children born to Augustus Burpee .and wife, Mrs. Farr alone is living. She was educated in the New Hampton Institution and at the Thetford Academy, where she met her future husband, with whom she was united in marriage in Portsmouth, N. H., May 19, 1861.

Major Evarts Worcester Farr was born in Littleton, N. H., October 10, 1840, and authen- tically traced his ancestry back to King Philip. His father, John, was a well known attorney, and his mother, formerly Tryphena Morse, was born in New Hampshire, and came from an old New England family. Major Farr graduated with high honors from the institution at Thet- ford, Vt., and then entered Dartmouth College, his training there being interrupted by the break- ing out of the Civil war. He enlisted from the town of Littleton in the First New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, and served continuously from April 20, 1861, until June of 1865. He was soon transferred to the New Hampshire Sec- ond, and was appointed lieutenant June 4, 1861,

promoted to tlie rank of captain January 1, 1862, and while in command of Company G, lost his right arm at the battle of Williamsburg, May 5, 1862. As soon as his wound permitted he re- turned to the field, and September 11, 1862, was promoted to the rank of major in the New Hampshire Eleventh, as a reward for valorous service in the field. At the battle of Fredericks- burg he fought with distinguished gallantry, and won the admiration of his fellow soldiers and commanders. With his regiment he went further west and after the siege of Vicksburg went with General Sherman to attack General Johnson at Jackson, Miss. During the remainder of the war he served principally on court marshal duty, and as judge advocate. For three years he supported the cause of the Union with but one arm, and at the battle of Fredericksburg he rode on the field with the bridle rein between his teeth, and a saber in his hand. His name is enrolled among the greatest of the heroes of the Rebellion, and his unfaltering courage in the face of danger served as inspiration to many less stout of heart.

After the war Major Farr returned to his home in New Hampshire and was admitted to the bar in Grafton county, N. H., in 1867. He began to practice in Littleton, and was thus employed, when not holding political office, up to the time of his death November 30, 1880. His many at- tainments and capacity for public trust called him to offices entailing large responsibility. He was assessor of internal revenues from July, 1871, to the abolition of the office in 1873, and during that time his wife was his clerk. By ap- pointment he served as collector of Grafton county from 1873 until 1876, and in 1876 he was. a member of the executive council of his state. In 1878 he was elected to the forty-sixth con- gress, and re-elected to the same office in Novem- ber of 1880, and at the time of his death was in the direct road to the United States senate. As a politician he was true to the highest tenets of the Republican party. He was modest in his demeanor, but very successful as an attorney ; and as the maker and keeper of friends had few equals.

At the time of her husband's death Mrs. Farr was left with the care of three children. Of these, Mrs. Ida Farr Miller is the wife of Edwin C. Miller, of the firm of Henry F. Miller & Sons, piano manufacturers, of Boston, Mass. Mrs. Miller is a prominent club woman of Wakefield, Mass., and is the organizer of the Faneuil Hall Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revo- lution. Herbert A. Farr is a resident of Boston ; and Edith May, a graduate of St. Mary's School of Concord, N. H., died in Massachusetts at the age of nineteen. Mrs. Farr opened a studio in Boston, Mass., three years after being thrown on her own resources, and in 1887, at the opening of the old Raymond Hotel, in Pasadena, established her studio therein, and steadily worked for five

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winters. In 1895 she bought an old vineyard upon which she built a studio and residence, the former being of the old adobe mission style, one room being reserved for Indian relics of South- ern California. Recently she has removed to No. 243 South Fair Oaks avenue, to make way for the new city park. So great a demand is there for the pepper pictures of Mrs. Farr, that she is obliged to consider them as of primary import- ance in her work, and in fact her talent is lent especially to the delineation of this interesting and indigenous tree.

In a general way Mrs. Farr has impressed her remarkable ability upon various phases of Pasa- dena life. To enumerate her services in con- nection with the city of her adoption is to touch upon all that enlists the sympathy and interest of women of the broadest culture and greatest breadth of mind. She is the president and or- ganizer of the Pasadena Business Woman's club ; is an active worker in the Women's Relief Corps; a member of the Shakspere Club; and of the Eastern Star. As a writer she has contri- buted articles for various publications. She is a member of the Episcopal Church, and is a Repub- lican in political affiliation.

LEVI VREDENBURGH. The superin- tendent of the Puente Oil Company of Chino was born at Croton Falls, Westchester county, N. Y., in 1843, and was reared on the farm owned by his father, Henry Vredenburgh. At the opening of the Civil war he was a youth of eighteen years, possessing all the love of ad- venture and longing for soldier's life which is characteristic of that age. Enlisting in Com- pany A, Eighth United States Infantry, he was sent to the front, where he remained for three years, until his term of service expired. The only unfortunate experience with which he met was in the battle of Cedar mountain, 1862, when a bullet entered his left knee, imbedding itself so deeply that it was not extracted until some years later.

The identification of Mr. Vredenburgh with the oil industry began in 1865. when he went to Oil City, Venango county, Pa., and learned the business of oil-refining. Wisely he began at the bottom and learned the work through all of its grades and details. After three years he went to Buffalo, N. Y., and from there was sent, by an Oil City company, to manage and fit with machinery a mine in Mohave county, Ariz. He was glad to accept this position, as he hoped that a change of climate might benefit his son, who was in poor health. The Arizona company not meeting with success, he came to California, and soon afterward, in 1898, accepted a position as superintendent of the Puente Oil Company of Chino, which had been established three years before. The careful and painstaking man- ner in which he has filled this position proved

him to be the right man in the right place. Many important additions have been made to the plant under his supervision and at his sug- gestion, and its large increase in business may be attributed to his executive ability.

As is generally known, Chino was the first town in this region to undertake the beet-sugar manufacturing business, and it has been the cen- tre of much important work along this line. The sugar plant is furnished oil by the Puente Com- pany, and the latter also supplies many other plants, as well as furnishing hot oil for the roads in this section of the county. The plant occupies sixteen acres and has a capacity of one hundred and fifty thousand barrels, daily, of crude oil, besides manufacturing gasoline and refined oil. The storage capacity is one hundred thousand barrels. There are six stills, all of which, to -. gether with the condensers, are of iron. The two boilers are of thirty and sixty horse-power respectively, and are used in operating the pumps that furnish oil for the pumping of the water supply throughout the valley.

While giving his attention closely to busi- ness, Mr. Vredenburgh finds time to keep posted concerning matters of national impor- tance, as well as those lesser affairs which have to do with municipal work. In the Chino Bap- tist Church he has served officially. While liv- ing in Oil City he was active in the work of the Masons and Odd Fellows. His first wife was Annie Terwilliger, of Orange county, N. Y., who died in 1877, at the age of thirty-one years. Two children were born of that union, namely: Elizabeth J., who died at twenty-five years of age; and Irving I., M. D. The present wife of Mr. Vredenburgh was formerly Violet Hecka- thorn, of Buffalo, N. Y.

ULYSSES E. WHITE. As justice of the peace and notary public Mr. White is intimately associated with the present progress and busi- ness development of Pomona, among whose early settlers is numbered his father, John J. White. The latter was born in Bartholomew county, Ind., February 17, 1843, a son of James White, and grew to manhood upon a farm. Selecting agriculture for his life work, he has since followed the same, although of recent years his interests have been more especially along the line of horticulture. In 1871 he moved from Indiana to Kansas, where he en- dured the hardships incident to life in that then undeveloped and sparsely settled state. Through his painstaking industry he laid the foundation of success. However, not feeling satisfied to remain there permanently and hearing much concerning the fine climate of Southern Cali- fornia, he decided to bring his family hither. On disposing of his Kansas property in 1881 he settled in San Diego county, Cal., where he ex- perimented in bee raising, besides carrying on

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general farm pursuits. The results were less gratifying than he had anticipated, and in Oc- tober, 1883, he came to Pomona, where he still makes his home. His first purchase here con- sisted of five acres for which he paid $100 per acre. The land was raw and unimproved, and some experimenting was necessary in order to prove to what products it was best adapted He planted it in apricots, and while the trees were getting a start he worked at various oc- cupations, principally, however, in the grading of roads.

A subsequent purchase made by Mr. White comprised fifteen acres, ten of which had been planted by A. L. Taylor, while the balance lie set out in deciduous fruits after the property came into his possession. At this writing he has eight acres in peaches, three in prunes and the balance in apricots. It has been his aim to raise only the best grades of fruits, and inferior qualities have been rejected as unwise invest- ments. The result of his care in the selection of the best qualities and in the cultivation of the trees is shown in the large yields he has se- cured; for instance, in 1901 he dried one hun- dred and five tons of apricots. Substantial buildings enhance the value of the place, which, if placed on the market, would probably bring $300 an acre.

During the Civil war Mr. White served in Company H, Thirty-second Indiana Infantry. In religion he is of the Christadelphian faith. While living in Howard county, Ind., he mar- ried Lucy J. Long, who at the time of coming to California was an invalid, but now enjoys excel- lent health. They are the parents of five chil- dren, namely: Ulysses E., Addison T., John D., A. Grace and Lawrence T. The oldest son was born in Howard county, Ind., in 1867, and was a small child when his parents settled in Kansas. His education, begun in district schools of that state, was afterward carried on in the schools of California. In 1889 he completed a course in stenography at the Kimball Business College of Chicago, after which he returned to Pomona and became a stenographer in the office of the late P. C. Tonner, subsequently filling a simi- lar position with Attorney Bell. In 1897 he was appointed chief clerk of the senatorial judiciary committee. To fill an unexpired term in the office of justice of the peace, in 1897 the board of supervisors appointed him to this position. At the expiration of the term he was elected, as the candidate of the Republican party, and has since filled the position, in addition to which he also serves as notary public. He is considered an expert stenographer and has frequently taught shorthand, adhering to the system of Takigraphy which students of various methods believe to be one of the best that has been given to the world. In matters fraternal he holds membership in the Independent Order of Odd

Fellows and the Independent Order of Forest- ers. By his marriage to Hattie H., daughter of Francis Dexter, he has two children, Gerald B. and George Dexter. Personally he possesses the qualities which win and retain friends, and in the city which has been his home since boy- hood he is not only well known, but also highly respected.

FREDERICK H. PAINE. The president and general manager of the F. H. Paine Feed and Fuel Company of Pomona is a native of the far east, having been born near Bangor, Me. When a child he accompanied his parents to the central west and there grew to manhood upon a farm, afterward taking up agricultural life near his old home. In young manhood he married Miss Margaret Stephens, a native of Wisconsin. Born of their union were five chil- dren: Warren A., who married Maude Latlin and has a daughter, Pauline; Douglas, de- ceased; Frederick, Hannah Hattie and Lilah. For years Mr. Paine met with encouraging suc- cess from a financial point of view, but, tiring of the severe winters, he decided to spend his remaining years in a milder climate. After vis- iting various points in Southern California he chose Pomona for his permanent home, and in 1889 brought his family to the then. small town.

Renting a business place on Thomas street, between Second and Third, he began in the sale of feed. At first his trade was small and profits meagre, but as the population increased and his reliability as a business man became known, he was given a gratifying increase in trade. A fire destroyed his building November 9, 1895, and he then removed to the Hoop building on Sec- ond street, where he remained for six years. At present he occupies the Ruth block at No. 239 West Second street. For a time he was associated with Mr. Latlin, later with Mr. Arm- strong, next with Mr. Hunter, and then with Mr. Lee, whom he bought out, and organized the F. H. Paine Feed and Fuel Company in 1897. The stockholders, besides himself, are J. T. Lyons, B. J. Tuttle, J. P. Starks, Robert Graft and W A. Paine. In addition to a large salesroom the company have built, on the cor- ner of Rebecca and First streets, a warehouse for the storage of hay, this building being 65x120 feet in dimensions. The success of the business is due to the energy and executive abil- ity of the manager, who possesses, indeed, more than ordinary business insight and judgment. Besides the management of this business he was one of the organizers of the Citrus Irrigation Company and has been intimately associated with the same in its varied undertakings. He is a member of the Fraternal Aid and in relig- ious views adheres to the doctrines of the Uni- versalist Church.

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

GEORGE E. CLARK. It is said that Mr. Clark, of Pomona, is the youngest man in the entire state who conducts a blacksmith shop of his own, he having succeeded to the business on the death of his father in 1901. He was born in Plymouth, Ohio, August 8, 1884, and is a son of Frederick T. Clark. The latter, a native of Paterson, N. J., accompanied his parents to Plymouth, Ohio, and there learned the black- smith's trade, after which he opened a shop and also carried a line of carriage supplies. For a number of years he continued in the same place, but in 1898 he disposed of his property and removed to California, settling in Pomona and entering into partnership with Charles Sears. Later he purchased his partner's inter- est and afterward conducted the business alone until his death, which occurred on October 9. 1901, at the age of forty-four years. In addition to his shop he owned other property in Po- mona, including a residence and various lots.

Music was the ruling passion of his life, and had he received the education necessary to develop his marked talent in this art he would undoubtedly have achieved prominence as a mu- sician. However, in spite of having no advan- tages or musical education lie acquired a thor- ough knowledge of the violin and many of his happiest hours were spent in playing choice selections with his children, all of whom he took great pride in training to a knowledge of the art. He was twice married, his first wife being Jennie L. Daniels, of Plymouth, Ohio, who died at thirty-eight years of age, while his second union was with Luella James. His children (all born of his first marriage) are George E., who is an expert in the use of the clarionet; Ethel M., who has mastered the piano, guitar, man- dolin and violin; Lloyd, whose specialty is the violin; Bessie M., whose favorite instruments are the piano and harp; and Glenn R., the youngest of the family and still a student.

Being the oldest in the family, George E. Clark succeeded to his father's business and has become the head of the family, assisting in the building of the family residence and being looked to by the others for advice and counsel. He is a member of the Fraternal Brotherhood and in religion believes in the Methodist Epis- copal doctrines.

TIMOTHY LYMAN THRALL. On com- ing to Pomona in 1886 Mr. Thrall rented a small building and opened a feed store, which he conducted about two years. His next en- terprise was the purchase of teams and the tak- ing of contracts to level the land for those who had purchased property with a view to horti- culture. The work was difficult, as in some instances it cost $700 per acre to remove the knolls and bring the land to a level. Fortu- nately the soil being very deep was of equally as

good quality for citrus culture below as above, and the leveling could thus be done without detriment to the anticipated returns from the soil. At a later date Mr. Thrall opened a liv- ery, feed and boarding stable on the corner of Second and Gordon streets, from which site, in 1901, he removed to the substantial stables on Main street. Here he carries a full equip- ment of vehicles, single and double, and from the possession of eight horses has increased his holdings to fourteen fine roadsters. At one time he owned an interest in a tally-ho. Be- sides the management of his livery business he owns and cultivates ten acres of oranges on East Holt avenue in San Bernardino county. This tract he set out in oranges nine years ago and it is now in fine bearing condition.

In Delaware county, Ohio, Mr. Thrall was born in 1837. He grew to manhood on a farm, whence in 1861 he moved to Ogle county, Ill .. later going to Kendall county, where he farmed for a year. His next location was in Joliet, III., where he conducted a livery business, and later carried on farm pursuits near that city. In 1861 he married Amanda Miller, a native of Ohio. They became the parents of four chil- dren, viz .: Clarence, who married Beatrice Hoff- man and is now associated with his father in business under the firm title of Thrall & Son: Mrs. Carrie Clarkson, of Winfield, Kans .; Mrs. Lulu Midgely, of Pomona; and Miriam, a stu- dent. The immediate cause of the family re- moving to California was the ill health of Mrs. Thrall, who suffered from asthma in Illinois. but who has regained her health in the unsur- passed climate of her present home.

ROBERT L. BELL. The life of Mr. Bell is worthy of emulation from many standpoints, and whether viewed as a contractor and builder, as a soldier during the Civil war, or as a pio- neer, he has been guided by an unswerving rec- titude and a tireless industry. A native of Kenosha county, Wis., he was born on his father's farm, twelve miles west of Racine, No- vember 19, 1843, and was educated in the Dane county public schools and Sun Prairie Acad- emy. His father, Robert Carr Bell, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, a son of Robert Lemuel Bell, of Scotch-Irish descent, and the proprie- tor of a large shoe manufacturing establish- ment in Cleveland. In time the prosperous shoe merchant lost his eyesight from overwork and exposure and his declining days were spent on a farm in Dane county, Wis., in almost total blindness. Robert Carr Bell was a graduate physician, and in early life settled at Waite's Corners, Kenosha county, Wis., where he prac- ticed medicine. Later he removed to Token creek, Dane county, where he died in 1858, at the age of thirty-eight years. His wife, Mary Ann (Chapell) Bell, was born in New York

FREDERICK B. EMERY

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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

state, a daughter of Daniel O. Chapell, a native of the east, a blacksmith by trade, and an early settler in Kenosha county, Wis. Mr. Chapell later removed to Union, Rock county, Wis., and afterwards to Iowa, where he rounded out his life work. Mrs. Bell, who died in Iowa, reared to usefulness the following children: Robert L., of Los Angeles; Mary E., who died at Limespring, Iowa; Mrs. Frances E. Bent, of Redfield, S. D .; Frank Newton, who died when comparatively young; and Frank Carr, who lives in Los Angeles.

At the death of his father Robert L. Bell, who was then fourteen years old, was obliged to set forth to earn his own living, and engaged in agricultural pursuits in Wisconsin. In 1860 he was one of a party to start for Pike's Peak with ox teams, their course being up the Platte to Denver, Clear Creek, Black Hawk and Gregory, at which latter place Mr. Bell engaged in placer mining for three months. He then went to Arapahoe, just below Golden City, on Clear creek, and from there to a dairy ranch near Denver. After a time he took his way to Denver, where he worked at the mason's trade, and in the spring of 1861 returned to Wisconsin overland with his uncle, R. O. Chapell, whom he met in Denver, Colo.

September 14, 1861, Mr. Bell volunteered in Company G, First Wisconsin Cavalry. After being drilled for some time, in the spring of 1862 the company went to Benton Barracks, Mo., and then to Cape Girardeau, Mo. He par- ticipated in many battles and skirmishes. In the fall of 1863 he joined the army of the Cum- berland, and remained until illness resulted in his detention in a hospital at Louisville, Ky. He was afterwards condemned for field duty, and transferred to the One Hundred and Fifty- Sixth United States Veteran Reserve Corps, which was divided into three subdivisions and placed on the hospital boats, viz .: D. A., Jan- uary, McDougal and Genevieve. Mr. Bell was on the first-named as supply steward on the lower Mississippi, Red River, etc., and cared for the sick and wounded of the Banks expedition. At the close of the war he was mustered out of service February 17, 1865. In 1867 he came to California via the Panama route, visiting first San Francisco and then San José, where he be- came interested in threshing, after which he went to Carson City and Virginia City, Nev., and teamed and freighted. In time he returned to California, and in 1869 journeyed to Eau Claire, Wis., where he completed his trade of carpenter and builder. He removed to Chicago in 1871, directly after the great fire. For a year he worked at his trade, and then removed to Minnesota and Dakota, and after 3 years again settled in Eau Claire, where he married Cather- ine Horan, of Canada.

In December of 1874 Mr. Bell came to San

Francisco, and the first of January settled in Los Angeles. He has since been engaged in contracting and building, and assisted in com- pleting the cathedral, besides erecting the Phil- lips, Baker, Newmark, Spencer, Jerry Elich, and Captain Thom blocks, and dozens of others be- sides. He has his office and residence at No. 908 East Third street. He owns a finely culti- vated fruit ranch of one hundred and sixty acres in San Bernardino county, and has twenty acres in almonds, eighteen acres in French prunes, and two acres in assorted fruits. Fraternally he was associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Eau Claire, Wis., and was also made a Mason in that place. In national politics he is a Republican.

Mr. and Mrs. Bell have eight children, viz .: Mrs. Viola Lemuel, Jr., who married Frances Lightner and is connected with the Standard Oil Company; Frank Newton, a clerk in the freight department of the Santa Fe Railroad Company at San Francisco; Nona, Maude Zitta, Evelyn and Genevieve, who are living at home.

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Historical and biographical record of southern California; containing a history of southern California from its earliest settlement to the opening year of the twentieth century, Part 139

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918 Publication date: 1902 Publisher: Chicago, Chapman pub. co. Number of Pages: 1366

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman pub. co.
Number of Pages: 1366